The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) has decried the abduction and demand of N30 million ransom on a senior employee of the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Numudogio Micah, by unidentified gunmen.Numudogio was abducted and taken to an unknown destination on January 5, 2018 along the Brass-Nembe waterways.

His abductors were said to have contacted his family and demanded N30 million ransom before they release him.But Ijaw youths, who frowned at the development, demanded his immediate and unconditional release.

The youths, under auspices of the Brass Local Council chapter of the IYC also charged security agencies to unmask the identity of the kidnappers and facilitate the release of the victim.

Describing the abduction as unwarranted and unprovoked, the Brass Chairman of IYC, Beledanyo Barass, said the victim, whom he described as a philanthropist, must be released unharmed.

Barass, who is also the Treasurer, IYC Central Zone, said: “We are calling on the kidnappers to spare him and release him unharmed. He is a man of peace who loves the youths a lot.

“This is a man who deserves encomium and commendations from us for the relative tranquility he has brought to us. What happened to him is undeserving and we condemn it in its entirety.”

While urging the federal and state governments to mobilise resources to ensure Micah was set free in the shortest possible time, he said Ijaw youths were ready to comb the creeks to search for and rescue him.

Barass appealed to the state and local governments to review the security architecture within the Brass Local Council, especially the Nembe-Brass waterways by mounting military checkpoints in strategic positions.

“On the part of the state government, we call for policies and programmes that will promote peaceful coexistence. We ask for the creation of job opportunities for the youths in the area, the construction of good road network, hospitals and schools to combat crimes in the area.”

“We also call on citizens to be vigilant at all times and report suspicious persons or group of persons to the police and other security agencies for prompt action,” he said.When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Butswat Asinim, confirmed Micah’s abduction, saying the police had commenced investigations.